Case Studies

Case studies have been shown to work across disciplines — preparing business students for the real world, improving biology students' test performance, and strengthening critical-thinking skills in nursing education.

Designing a Case Study

Here's how to build a case, step by step — following one example throughout, written for an introductory marketing course: a small campus coffee shop that's losing customers to a national chain that just opened next door.

1. Identify the learning outcomes

Decide what students should be able to do once they finish the case, and write it down first. With your outcome in hand, you can judge whether a case actually fits — instead of being won over by a convenient package.

Example

Students will recommend a marketing strategy for a small business and back it up with evidence.

2. Find a case

Identify a situation that could pose a real problem for a professional in your field. Tying it to current events or your own experience makes it more engaging. Using a case written by another instructor can also be effective — a practical option, since writing your own is difficult and may rely on proprietary data that isn't publicly available. Where to look:

• A textbook publisher's case library
• An open educational resource (often free to adapt)
• An original case you write (most work, but fully tailored)
• A real news story you reshape into a case

Example

You spot a short local news story about a student run coffee shop struggling after a big chain moved in nearby. That becomes your case: a campus shop, "Campus Grounds," losing customers to a new competitor.

 

3. Present the problem

Write up the situation with enough concrete detail that students can connect it to what they've learned or to their own experience. Your main decision here is how much to reveal up front versus during the case — a call that follows from your learning objectives. Whatever you do, pose the problem and leave it open; don't hand over a recommendation.

Example

What students receive:
Campus Grounds is a small, student-run coffee shop that has served the campus for eight years. Six months ago, a national chain opened directly across the street, offering lower prices and a mobile loyalty app.

Since then, Campus Grounds has seen weekday sales drop. Most surveyed customers still say they prefer its atmosphere and community feel — but they visit less often and cite price as the main reason.

You have been asked to advise the owner. Using the information below, recommend what Campus Grounds should do to stay competitive.

The information you have:

• Campus Grounds' monthly sales for the past year
• Results from a 200-student customer survey
• The competitor's menu and prices (e.g., a latte at $3.25 vs. Campus Grounds' $4.50)

4. Establish expectations

Tell students what to submit. This usually includes:

• The evidence gathered
• The proposed solution
• How it will be presented or turned in

Example

The prompt students receive: "Each group turns in a one-page marketing plan for Campus Grounds: the recommendation, the trade-offs weighed, and two pieces of evidence from the case that support it. Then each group pitches the plan to the class in five minutes."

5. Facilitate discussion

Plan how you'll run the debrief. Be ready to question, challenge, and test students' reasoning as they present, and have groups capture findings on a shared board so teams can compare.

Example

As groups present, ask questions that push their thinking: "You want to lower prices — how long can Campus Grounds afford that against a big chain?" or "A loyalty app sounds good — what would it cost, and would students actually use it?" Then have the class compare plans and decide which one fits a small shop best.

A real-world example

For a fully developed case that roughly follows the six components above, see Tipping Point—ChatGPT and Assessment (University of British Columbia). One flaw to avoid: it ends with a "Recommendations" section that hands students the solution, where a strong case leaves the problem open. (Namba & Hamilton, n.d., Creative-Commons licensed.)

View the Full Case Study

Variations

Have students build the cases themselves from a set of guidelines. Giving them that ownership has been shown to:

• Increase student confidence
• Deepen understanding of course material
• Encourage additional critical thinking

References

Barkley, E. F. (2010). Student Engagement Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty (First Edition). Jossey-Bass.

Barrows, H. S. (1986). A taxonomy of problem-based learning methods. Medical Education, 20(6), 481–486. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2923.1986.tb01386.x

Bonney, K. M. (2015). Case Study Teaching Method Improves Student Performance and Perceptions of Learning Gains. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, 16(1), 21–28. https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.v16i1.846

Farashahi, M., & Tajeddin, M. (2018). Effectiveness of teaching methods in business education: A comparison study on the learning outcomes of lectures, case studies and simulations. The International Journal of Management Education, 16(1), 131–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2018.01.003

McFarlane, D. A. (2015). Guidelines for Using Case Studies in the Teaching-Learning Process. College Quarterly, 18(1), 4–4.

McKeachie, W. J., & Svinicki, M. (2006). McKeachie’s Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers (Twelfth Edition). Houghton Mifflin Company.

Namba, R., & Hamilton, D. (n.d.). Tipping Point—ChatGPT and Assessment. Retrieved May 3, 2024, from https://cases.open.ubc.ca/tipping-point-chatgpt-and-assessment/

Nasr, P. (2012). A Report on Case Study Application in an Undergraduate Anatomy and Physiology Course. AURCO Journal, 18, 123–139. Education Source.

Popil, I. (2011). Promotion of critical thinking by using case studies as teaching method. Nurse Education Today, 31(2), 204–207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2010.06.002

Yurco, P. (2014). Student-Generated Cases: Giving Students More Ownership in the Learning Process. Journal of College Science Teaching, 43(3), 54–58. Education Source.